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Does that look a little slanted to you?

When you think of leaning towers what is the first thing that comes to mind?

“La Torre di Pisa” or as it’s famously known, The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the bell-tower (campanile) of the cathedral in the Italian city of Pisa in Toscana (Tuscany). Construction of the bell-tower began in the summer of 1173 and took somewhere around 177 years to complete. Situated behind the cathedral it is a “must-see” for tourists visiting the region. The bell-tower famous for its impressive lean was never actually supposed to lean. It was intended to stand vertically, however, during its construction it began to incline. Many efforts were made to stop the incline during its construction but the bell-tower was determined! Over the years, some of the greatest minds of the world have been called in to crack the code of the lean and save the leaning tower from eventual collapse. Only time will tell if the millions of dollars that went into saving the tower will be fruitful. Until then, it continues to wonder and amaze tourists, artists, and architects alike.

But, could it be the Tower of Pisa has some competition?

Work began mid March 2008 in Venice to fit a titanium belt to one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the bell-tower in St Mark’s Square. The tower’s foundation made up of thousands of wooden posts driven into unstable ground is slowly breaking down and failing to support the weight of the tower. In turn, the tower is beginning to lean as the foundation underneath is literally cracking at a rate of a millimeter a year. The tower, built in 1912, is an exact replica of its predecessor, which collapsed unexpectedly in 1902. In order to prevent the tower from toppling over, again, the titanium belt will be wrapped around its foundation two meters below the surface and will be invisible from the outside. How long will the belt hold this Venetian landmark? Well, you can never truly predict something like that, but for now the tower is safe, and the breathtaking view from the top of the tower can be enjoyed by visitors for many more years to come.

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When I was in Pisa I thought it was SO funny, as the tower is REALLY leaning. And same thing in Venice – I thought I was seeing things at first, then I was starting to think that maybe most of Italian cities would have leaning towers…Well there are none that I have seen in Rome (just yet.)